Posts Tagged ‘Iraq’

For three decades, children were entertained by the late Fred Rogers’ television program “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” Beginning with the song, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” he took his viewers on a journey through a make-believe world. It would be wrong to think comments by President Barack Obama last month about the Middle

A six second video recorded of an April 2008 terrorist attack in Ramadi explains why the city fell without a fight to ISIS last week. The story behind the video was shared in a speech given two years after the attack by Marine Corps Lt. General John Kelly. At the time of the 2008 incident, Kelly commanded

By James G. Zumwalt Recent news stories reveal a frightening theme emerging. In Iraq and Syria, Islamic terrorist group ISIS expands its borders, unleashing brutality upon its fellow Muslims to “purify” the region of opponents. Undeterred by world opinion or the same political correctness (PC) Islam’s defenders in the U.S. raise to prevent rational discussions

By James ZumwaltIf a U.S. President embraces a “Do Nothing” foreign policy long enough, inaction might eventually prove to be the right course. It has only taken five years and close to 200 rounds of golf in office for President Obama to do it, but his inaction in Iraq to date following significant ISIS ground

By James Zumwalt In the aftermath of the ISIS advance through Iraq and into Syria, the question has been raised in the media as to whether the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq would have made a difference in stopping such a determined enemy or just delayed the eventuality of its ultimate success. That question

HERNDON, Va., Nov. 26 (UPI) — The late ventriloquist Edgar Bergen used a dummy named Mortimer Snerd, a character so dumb everything required a full explanation. Finally understanding, Mortimer would shake his head in amazement, saying “Who’d ‘a’ thunk it (possible)?” Understanding a fascinating realignment recently taking place in the Middle East causes one to respond similarly, for

By JAMES ZUMWALT, UPI Outside View Commentator HERNDON, Va., Oct. 15 (UPI) — It is ironically appropriate to apply an old biblical term “den of iniquity” to mosques as the New York City Police Department has been doing for some Islamic centers there. Originally meaning “a thieves’ lair,” today the term suggests a center of

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 8 (UPI) — At times in U.S. history its leaders failed to “get the message” of a national security threat, suffering dire consequences as a result. Prior to World War II, the United States had broken the Japanese code but failed to recognize Tokyo planned a surprise military strike. In 1998, U.S.

HERNDON, Va., Sept. 24 (UPI) — As Iran gets closer to developing nuclear weapons, Israel has to decide whether to await U.S. military assistance to stop Tehran or to go it alone. Israel should heed lessons both from the Vietnam War and U.S. inaction in Iraq today. From the Vietnam War, Israel should remember:

HERNDON, Va., July 9 (UPI) — Only the Hebrew word “chutzpah” appropriately describes it but a recent demand of the Vatican by Egypt’s senior Sunni cleric Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb screams for its use. To better understand why, a brief history of recent Muslim/Catholic relations is necessary. In 2006, ties between Muslims and